overdrive

noun over·drive \ ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

1 : an automotive transmission gear that transmits to the drive shaft a speed greater than engine speed

2 : a state of heightened activity

going into rhetorical overdrive

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Examples of overdrive in a Sentence

He put the car into overdrive.
His acting career is in overdrive.
The reporters went into overdrive to finish their stories on time.

Recent Examples of overdrive from the Web

Four dollars-a-gallon gasoline, not seen in the Golden State since midsummer 2014, is starting to look likely due to developments that pushed at-the-pump prices into overdrive last week.

— mark glover, sacbee, "Gas prices at $4-per-gallon? We could see it with Syria and supply playing roles | The Sacramento Bee," 16 Apr. 2018
The England international has been sent down the pecking order in recent weeks in favour of Ashley Young, sending transfer speculation into overdrive as his relationship with Mourinho continues to be brought into question.

— SI.com, "Report: Man United Eyes Celtic's Kieran Tierney as Solution to Left Back Woes," 14 Apr. 2018
When these melanocytes go into overdrive and produce too much color, the dark spots can occur.

— susan brickell, Health.com, "This Blogger Applies Sunscreen Like a Mustache to Prevent Melasma—Does That Really Work?," 9 Apr. 2018
Van Assche’s departure and Jones’s arrival are somewhat surprising, considering that the fashion rumor mill was working in overdrive as to what might happen to Dior Homme’s onetime leader, Slimane, and where Jones would be off to after leaving LV.

— steff yotka, Vogue, "Kris Van Assche Leaves Dior Homme; Kim Jones Named New Artistic Director," 19 Mar. 2018
Thought to be an autoimmune condition where the cells in the top layer of skin are in overdrive, a psoriasis rash is made up of pink plaques with a characteristic silvery scale.

— mona gohara, Good Housekeeping, "7 Common Scalp Issues — And How to Treat Them," 13 Mar. 2018
Speculation of possible Kroger acquisitions or partnerships are in overdrive this month with news outlets suggesting the grocer was eyeing potential takeovers of digital wholesaler Boxed as well as online retailer Overstock.com.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Kroger shares jump amid talk of Alibaba alliance or merger to combat Amazon," 25 Jan. 2018
With their lobbyists in overdrive, the railroads might have persuaded lawmakers to delay the mandate.

— ashley halsey iii, Washington Post, "Trump administration says railroads must meet automatic-braking-system deadline," 3 Jan. 2018
Let’s kick this into overdrive, and give me a plan,’’ the official said, describing Trump’s reaction to the notion.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump says he’ll send military troops to beef up patrols at border with Mexico," 4 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overdrive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.